Truce
by heroesofolympussy
Summary: Percy Jackson had a rough couple of years. With raising twin seven year olds on his own, trying to control his eighth grade history class and Annabeth Chase back in his life calling a truce, he's not sure if he can jumble it all.
1. Chapter 1

**This is an AU I fabricated that I found could go places. Thanks for reading and I'd love reviews!**

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**Percy's POV**

Nico di Angelo had been pestering him about getting together to "catch up" and of course, when Percy finally agreed, Nico was a half an hour late. Percy didn't worry much about the time because his twins were with his mother, Sally for the night, but he was a little annoyed that his best friend was making him sit at a bar, alone.

"Dude," Percy hears Nico call from the entrance. He turns to see him heading to the bar. He hadn't changed much from the last time he saw him, except he had finally cut his dark, long hair. Percy was kind of relieved that he did, since Nico had had his hair like that since middle school. He was due for a change. "I'm sorry, but Thalia was freaking out."

Percy holds back a laugh as Nico takes the stool beside him. Thalia Grace had been his best friend since middle school along with Nico and another guy named Grover. He knew her all too well and when she was freaking out, it was hard to get away from. She even tended to get violent. "What is it this time?" Percy asks as Nico orders a drink.

Nico and Thalia's relationship wasn't particularly new, but it did take years for them to realize that they were in love with each other. Percy couldn't believe how long it took for them to open their eyes and notice how similar they were. Thalia was the tough girl and Nico was the dark and moody type, but they fit because Nico could deal with Thalia's attitude and Thalia could deal with Nico's occasional lack of emotion. "She thinks she might be pregnant." Nico reveals, causing Percy to choke on his drink.

After he gains control, he glances at Nico's expression for any sign that he's joking. There was none, instead he looked a little freaked out. Nico slams his drink as soon as the bartender sets it down and Percy laughs. "Dude, calm down." he tells him, internally laughing over the thought of Nico and Thalia having a kid. "You guys have been together for almost ten years! Everything will be fine and as a matter of fact, I'm surprised that you haven't married her, yet!"

Nico let out a dry laugh, his ever constant moody expression resurfaces. "I was there when Christine was pregnant, Perce and that wasn't a fun experience." he reminds him. "Thalia will be a lot worse."

Percy makes a face at the reference. He had decided that pretending his ex-wife didn't exist was for the better. Especially since, she decided that pretending her two children didn't exist wasn't a big deal. Better yet, while he was in New York raising their kids(not that he minded), she was off on some extended vacation with her tool of a boyfriend, Hank. He hadn't heard from her in months.

Nico must have noticed Percy's annoyance. "Sorry man." he says, sheepishly then pauses to take a drink. "Don't you think it's time for you to get back out there? I mean, we all knew that Christine wasn't the one for you."

Percy grasps his glass. "Oh, thanks for mentioning that after I married and had kids with her." he mutters, sarcastically and downs the rest of his beverage.

Nico laughs, "Where are Aria and Aiden, by the way?"

"My moms." he says, "The only babysitter they don't terrorize."

Nico nods, "And how've you been?"

Percy runs a hand through his black hair and sighs. "She just left me to deal with so much on my own, you know?" he rants. "I love the twins, but this is my first night out in three months and they're starting to ask questions about her. How do you explain to your kids that their mom took off with her boyfriend?"

Nico looked troubled, like her wasn't sure what to say. After a few minutes of silence, a smile stretches across his face. "You need to get laid, man."

Percy snorts, "I don't even have time for a date, what makes you think I'd have time for that?"

"Thalia and I will watch the twins for you." he offers, as if it would take no effort.

"Uh, no thanks." Percy declines. "I'd rather not have Thalia strangle my kids."

Nico waves him off, "Quit making excuses." he demands. "Thalia's got this friend from college that just resurfaced and she'd be perfect."

He narrows his green eyes at Nico, realization hitting him. "If you're talking about Annabeth, I'm going to deck you." he threatens, even though he felt a little giddy that Annabeth was back in New York. It wasn't that hard to guess since Thalia didn't have many friends.

His friend scoots away from him in caution. "Oh, come on!" he pleads, "You and Annabeth were perfect together! Not to mention, she's single!"

Percy shakes his head. Annabeth Chase had been his girlfriend throughout highschool and until their college graduation. A few days after that graduation, she had gotten some amazing job offer in Greece and broke up with him. She had said something about how long distances relationships never worked and he had gotten the picture. She thought he was holding her down. "No, she's got that fancy architecture job in Greece to worry about."

Nico grins at him, like he knew something Percy didn't. "That's just it, though! She got transferred here to run their New York office and she wouldn't stop bragging about it."

He smiles because it sounded like something Annabeth would do, her pride was strong. He starts to consider things because maybe he and Annabeth still had something, but he quickly shakes off all thoughts. "My kids need me and I can't be strung on Annabeth's leash like I was in high school." he finalizes.

Nico lets out an annoyed sigh, "Whatever, but you're still going to Willow's birthday party this weekend, right?"

Percy nods. His best friend, Grover would kill him if he didn't show up to his daughter's fifth birthday party and the twins were over excited about the idea of cake. He'd rather not get grief from two seven year olds and an angry friend.

Nico looked satisfied with his answer and finished off his drink. "Good."

**Good? Okay? Terrible? Let me know! Excuse any errors like typos or grammar mistakes, please I didn't have time to edit. **


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Percy's POV

Percy was trying and failing to comb out his daughters hair because she insisted on moving every two seconds. "Aria, can you please stop moving!" he begs his little girl. "If I don't brush your hair, we'll never make it to the party."

Aria suddenly goes still, making him sigh in relief. He quickly runs the brush through her black curls a few times and when he's finished, she hops down from his lap. "Can we go now, daddy?" she asks, her bright blue eyes wide like saucers. She did this when she wanted something and it usually worked because Percy admired her efforts. When he nods, she smiles widely showing off her missing front tooth and he swears that he's never seen anything more adorable. "Go tell your brother that we're ready to leave."

She then runs out of the room shouting Aidan's name, repeatedly leaving Percy to laugh at her antics. Her grabs their sweaters because dealing with one sick seven year old was rough, but dealing with two was damn near impossible.

Aria and Aidan were waiting by the front door when he got there. Aria was literally bouncing up and down in anticipation, but Aidan just had that eager look in his eyes. His twins were different in almost every way, except appearance because they both shared their bright blues eyes, black hair and small noses. Despite, appearance they were total opposites. Aria was always either talking or moving, asking endless questions and she had the tendency to pick a lot of fights, while Aidan was very friendly, quiet and only asked questions when he truly didn't know something.

Percy smiled at his kids and opened to front door, causing the twins to rush out of the house. Thankfully, the park had only been a few blocks away, so he saved gas. Grover will be so proud, he was the tree hugger type and so was his wife, Juniper. It made them a perfect fit.

Halfway through the walk, Aria starts complaining. "You're lazy, Ari!" Aiden teases as Percy slips her unto his shoulders. He chuckles when she starts petting his hair.

"You have pretty hair, dad." she compliments with a giggle as they approach the park. Aiden takes off towards the playground causing Aria to beg her dad to let her down.

"Oh, I don't know about that, Ari." he says in an amused tone. "You said you were pretty tired from that walk, so maybe you shouldn't play right now."

Aria groans and Percy lifts her off his shoulders. As she runs off, he says, "No fighting, please!"

She turns and gives him a thumbs up before reaching the playground. Percy was still wary about the mischievous glint in her eyes and promised himself to keep an eye on her. He watches as she starts pushing her brother on the swing and decides to go say hello to Grover.

He turns to the cluster of picnic tables behind him, where the adults of the party were eating and talking. Taking one last glance at his kids, he then heads over to the tables.

"Hey G-man!" he greets his best friend.

"Percy!" he grins, "You're here!"

Grover pulls Percy into a quick hug. "It's good to see you, man." he tells him as he pulls away from his embrace. "Just stopped over to say hi. I don't want to leave the twins at the playground by themselves." he explains.

Juniper appears from behind Grover with their red headed daughter, Willow. He tells her to have a happy birthday and the five year old blushes. "We were just heading over to the playground, Perce." Juniper says, "Why don't I keep an eye on the twins, so you can take a break?"

Percy gives her appreciate smile. "It is good to see you, Juniper."

She laughs, "You too, Percy." Then, her and Willow make their way to the playground.

Both men take a seat at one of the picnic tables, "How've you been, G-man?" Percy asks his best friend.

"Great." he replies, wistfully. He seemed truly happily and Percy was glad. If anyone deserve happiness, it was certainly Grover. "The café is picking up business. Things are looking up."

Percy grins, "That's good!" he comments. He looks around the picnic area, seeing no sign of anyone else he knew. Most looked liked parents of Willow's school friends. "Where is everyone?"

It seems Percy spoke too soon because just as he finishes, Nico's voice calls from behind them, "Grover! Perce!"

They whip around to see three approaching figures. Percy stiffens when his eyes land on the blonde. He was going to kill Nico. "Annabeth?" Grover calls in surprise.

Thalia nods with a smile. Her blue eyes shone like she's never been happier. Grover then leaps up from the table and rushes over to hug Annabeth. Percy just stands up and watches from a distance, but not without shooting a glare at Nico first. He was pretty sure he had told Nico that he wanted to stay as far away from Annabeth as possible.

After Annabeth pulls away from Grover's embrace, her gray eyes meet Percy's green eyes. She offers him a cautious smile as if to say, 'Truce?' Though he hesitated, Percy slowly returned the smile after deciding that it was the only way he was going to make it through this party.

She starts walking toward him, leaving Thalia and Nico to catch up with Grover. As she gets closer, he starts noticing the small changes in her appearance. Her tan was darker, but just as beautiful and her smile seemed wider and much more genuine than it was nine years ago.

"Well Seaweed Brain." she grins at him, only a few feet away. "You aged well."

He grins back, easily remembering the type of relationship they had. "Back at you, Wise Girl."

Annabeth seemed pleased with the use of her old nickname. "How have you been? Thalia and Nico didn't spare many details."

Percy scratches the back of his head and laughs. Where would he even start? "I'm good, you know. Finally getting back on track." he explains, "I just rec-."

The sound of his son's voice cut him off. "Dad!" Aiden shouted from behind him and Percy whipped around to see the seven year old running toward them.

"Aiden?" he asks, warily when his son reaches them. "What's wrong?"

The little boy was panting like the short run was actually ten miles. "Aria's fighting with some boy, again." he grumbles, his tone colored in annoyance. "It's not pretty."

Percy lets out a sigh, though knowing this would happen. Aria was his daughter and if it was one thing they had in common, it was that it was never hard for them to find trouble. He quickly turns back to Annabeth giving her an apologetic smile before heading towards to playground with his son. He couldn't help but notice her shocked expression.

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I have atleast six more chapters of this written, but not typed... I get antsy when typing up old things... but yeah, tell me what you think? Check out my other fics!


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks for the reviews! Typed this up for you guys!

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Annabeth's POV

Annabeth Chase was still in shock. When Thalia had told her that Percy was currently single, she was overjoyed because part of her still loved him, but she had never mentioned that he had kids! Not that it changed any of her feelings, but it would have been nice to have known!

She stomps over to Thalia, grips her arm and pulls her away from Nico and Grover. "Something you forget to tell me?" she snaps at her friend.

Thalia winces at her tone. "I'm sorry, okay?" she apologizes, knowing what Annabeth had meant. "We just thought you should find out on your own."

Annabeth let out a sigh. She was a little hurt because throughout the years she was gone, her main focus had been work. Sure, there had been a few dates, but her heart had always been set on Percy. She wished he had did the same. "Who's the mother?" she questions.

"You wouldn't know her." Thalia explains, "Percy went into her bakery one day when he was trying to find a cake for his mom's birthday and they clicked, I guess. Christine was cool for the first two years, but a year or so after the twins were born, she starting going out and cheating on Percy. They got divorced two years ago."

Annabeth began to feel angry with this Christine. "Where is she, now?"

Thalia shrugs, "She took off with her boyfriend after the divorce."

"And left her children?" Annabeth exclaims, incredulously.

Her best friend nods and Annabeth gets a new found respect for Percy. He was raising two kids on his own and she was proud of him. She then sees him approaching with a small girl on his shoulders and the little boy, Aiden from before trailing behind. Annabeth could certainly tell that they were twins because they looked a lot alike, except for obvious things like hair length. They had the same dark hair, matching Percy's and bright blue eyes. In fact, it was their eyes that seemed to be the only thing they didn't inherit from their dad.

"Hey Thals." he greets her, then glances at Annabeth, warily. She gives him a reassuring smile and his shoulders relax.

"Aunt Thalia!" the small girl cried, showing her missing front tooth. Oh, she is adorable, Annabeth thought. The girl reached for Thalia, so Percy easily slipped her off his shoulders and she clung onto Thalia's leg, joining her brother, who beat her to it.

Q"Wow Aria, you're getting tall, kiddo!" Thalia smiles down at them. "And Aiden, tell your dad to take you for a haircut, already!"

They start telling Thalia all kinds of things, ranging from which tooth they just lost to the last boy Aria picked a fight with. Annabeth laughs, "How old are they?"

"Just turned seven." he answers, his pride unmistakable.

Annabeth was surprised. He must have moved on quickly, since she had left nine years ago. She was hurt, yes but couldn't blame him since she was the one who left him. "They're beautiful." she comments, giving him a smile. "They're a lot like you, actually."

"Why Annabeth, did you just call me beautiful?" Percy teases, causing her to blush.

"Can it, Percy." she grumbles, though not totally denying it. He had changed a lot, she'd admit, but he was still very attractive. Not to mention, his sea green eyes were just as captivating as always.

He grins in return. "Sorry about earlier, Aria's a handful." he apologizes, sheepishly.

Annabeth waves him off, "A lot like her father then." she laughs.

"Unfortunately so." he agrees and nods toward his children who were in the process of tackling Nico. "Do you want to meet them?"

She bites her bottom lip in uncertainty. "Would that be okay?"

Percy rolls his eyes at her. "Of course it is, Wise Girl." He leads her over to his kids. They had now pinned Nico to the grass and Annabeth felt sorry for him. Aiden was sitting on his back, while Aria was tugging on his dark hair. "Aria, as much as we all hate Nico's hair, pulling it isn't nice!" he scolds, playfully. She was kind of glad to see that he hadn't entirely grown up. "And Aiden, sitting on him isn't nice, either!"

Annabeth chuckles, lightly as both children groan and hop off of Nico. They seem to forget about Nico as soon as their bright blue eyes land on her. "Who's the lady?" Aria asks, bluntly as she stares at Annabeth. "She's pretty." Aiden adds.

Percy laughs at his kids and Annabeth joins him. "Aiden, Aria, this is Annabeth. Shew my friend." he introduces her to them. "Annabeth, meet Aiden and Aria, the twin devils." he jokes.

Aria sticks her tongue out at her dad and Aiden says, "Hey!" In complaint.

Annabeth smiles, widely and holds out her hand to the twins, "It's nice to meet you guys."

Aiden takes Annabeth's hand, eagerly and refused to let go. "Annabeth, will you be my girlfriend?" the little boy asks, sweetly.

She stifles a giggle as Percy scolds. It was interesting to see how much Percy and his children were alike. "Aiden, you are seven!"

The boy shrugs as his sister rolls her eyes. "Aiden, Annabeth can't be your girlfriend! She's going to be my best friend and won't have time for you!" she argues, snatching Annabeth's free hand. She suddenly felt a game of human Tug O' War in the making. She glanced, warily at Percy, who only looked amused.

_Typical Seaweed Brain, _she thought._ Two can play at that game._ She smiles at Aiden, apologetically. "Aiden,I am very sorry, but I can't be your girlfriend." she tells him, causing his face to fall. She felt bad about letting the little boy down. "I like someone else very much." she said, truthfully.

Aiden looked upset, but Aria seemed to be rejoicing in victory. "Who is this guy?" he pouts.

Annabeth met Percy's sea green eyes, letting him know that she was definitely referring to him. She was done with messing around. Annabeth had missed him and wanted to give their relationship another go, if he was willing."Let's just say that I've known him for a long time."

His deer caught in headlights expression made her smirk and she turned her attention back to the twins. "We can still be friends, right?" Aria questions, eagerly and Annabeth nods.

Percy clears his throat, "Uh Annabeth?" he murmured, his ton was thick with emotion. "Do you want to go and get some ice cream with Aria, Aiden and I, tomorrow?"

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Tell me what you think? Again, next chapter is written, but it might take a while for me to type it up. Reason one being that I have no patience for typing up old work, reason two is because its almost exam time and I have tons of projects due... but fear not! One week or ten days at the most! Thanks again and reviews are much appreciated. Don't be shy!


	4. Chapter 4

So hey! I've had the next couple of chapters written for ages and I'm sorry I hadn't posted them. They weren't typed up and I've been lazy. But I've finally gotten to it! Thanks for reading!

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Chapter Four

Seeing Annabeth again was harder than he originally thought. She was so understanding and great with his kids, which made it that much harder not to fall for her again. Not to mention the lit bit where she had basically said she was still in love with him. How in the gods' names could he ignore that?

And then stupidly, before he could stop himself, he had asked her out. Sure, it was a day out with his kids for ice cream, but… It was all so very complicated.

He hears the doorbell ring and he hurries to answer it. Percy pauses at the door and took a deep breath. Yesterday, he was ambushed. Totally unprepared for Annabeth's arrival, but today was different and the pressure had him wishing he never suggested it in the first place.

Percy swings the door open and frowns. Standing in front of him was not a five foot five blonde with calculating grey eyes, but a five foot seven brunette with wide blue eyes. "Christine?" he mutters. There was dread in his tone, but also surprise and definitely not the good kind. She used to occasionally popped up unwantedly, but now was the worse time she could and he was especially surprised because the last time she had was almost a year ago. "Wha-what are you doing here?"

He takes in her skimpy clothing and his frown deepens. It wasn't that she was wearing it, but rather that she had worn it to see their children that had him a bit miffed. "I'm here to see my babies! Why else would I be here?" she exclaims, excitedly as she tries to make her way into his home, without invitation. Percy steps in front of her, blocking her path.

"Christine, you can't just show up out of blue like this!" he tells her, his tone highly aggravated. He had sworn that he had told her this last time she stopped in. "Our lives didn't stop while you were gone _which was for a whole year by the way_." he added, bitterly.

She looked angry at his criticism, "You can't stop me from seeing my kids!" she argues, her tone growing more and more high pitched by the second. He tried not to wince, that was definitely something about her that he did not miss.

The green eyed man let out a sigh of frustration, wasn't _she_ the one who left? "Look, I'm not trying to!" he grumbles, wishing he was having a nightmare. Anything, but having to actually deal with her at this very moment. "But we had plans and now you're ruining them. You could have called first!"

"Oh, so I have to comply to your schedule? I don't think so!" the brunette shouts, "Let me see my children!"

He was starting to get angry and opens his mouth to shout back, but snaps it shut when he heard his daughter's voice. "Daddy!" she calls, her voice appearing to get louder as she approaches. "Aiden and I heard yelling." They both enter the living room and Percy turned to face them, but they were staring at the woman behind him. He held back a curse, he had hoped to at least prepared them a bit before they seen her. "Mom?" Aria murmurs in shock, the same expression written on her face.

Aiden, who was a bit more mature, how Percy would never know, harshly mutters, "What is she doing here?"

His heart sinks at his son's words. Percy felt terrible that a seven year, his no less, felt that way about their mother, no matter how much Christine may have deserved it. He kneels in front of his twins and made eye contact with them both. Aiden looked hurt, while his daughter seemed to be in shock."If you want her to leave, give me the signal and she's gone." he promises, softly. The signal was something they used often, especially in predicaments as such. It was a pagan gesture to ward off evil, ironically enough, that they learned from Grover. A three clawed hand pulling away from the chest. Both of the twins nod in agreement, though they look wary. Percy then sighs, nodding to Christine. "Come in, Christine."

As Christine enters, her gushy attitude appears. "Oh Aria!" she cries, "You're so beautiful! And Aiden, you've gotten so handsome!"

Percy thought the worst of it was over. Christine would badger them with questions for a good hour until she felt her moral compass was filled and leave. He was fine with that, but unfortunately he had forgotten something important. A familiar voice rang out and called his name from the doorway causing him to run and widened his eyes, stuck as he took in her appearance. He had completely forgotten that Annabeth was coming over.

He internally groaned at his rotten luck. Why couldn't Christine have come over after their ice cream run? Percy would gladly accept a bad night rather than the oncoming storm that was minutes away. If he knew both women well, and he did, he knew they'd clash.

"Annabeth, hey!" he greets the blonde who was eying the scene before her with caution. His twins rip their attention away from their mother and rush to embrace Annabeth's legs. She laughs in response, "You guys almost knocked me off my feet!" she joked, grinning down them. All the way to the end of Willow's party the other day, his twins seemed to be attached to Annabeth's hip. It was amazing to see how quickly the three had bonded and to be honest, he had also been quite grateful. "Did you really miss me that much?"

They nodded against her legs causing her to grin, broadly. Percy's own mouth upturned into a smile as he watched his kids with Annabeth, almost forgetting that Christine was in the room until she opened her mouth. "Who's this?" she says, icily.

All of their attention snaps to her and Percy became extremely nervous. This was the last thing he had in mind for today. "I'm Annabeth." she introduces herself, politely as she holds out a hand as a friendly only glares at her hand as if she wanted it to burst into flames and Percy swallows uncomfortably, eying both women warily.

Thankfully, Annabeth isn't offended, or rather she didn't show it if she was, and withdraws her hand without a care. "So, do you want to reschedule?" she questions Percy, casually.

He shakes his head, quickly. "Oh no, I could still go for some ice cream." he smirks, then looks over to Aria and Aiden. "What about you, kids?"

"Ice cream." they agree in unison.

They all looked to Christine and Percy considered inviting her out of pure civility, but she looked livid. "So, this is your whore now?" she spits, venomously catching Percy by surprise.

His face turns red in anger, "Kids, go to your rooms." he demands in a sharp tone and they hurry off without a word. Once Percy heard the sound of their bedroom door's closing, he glared at Christine, incredulously. "How dare yo-."

"Percy, don't." Annabeth interrupts, calmly. He was surprised by her control, but nods. "Christine, is it?" she asks in a dangerously low tone. "You should be ashamed of yourself! You can't use that kind of language in front of your children, especially when Percy has worked so hard to raise them right!" the blonde takes a deep breath when she realizes she's raising her voice. Percy was shocked that that was the reason she now appeared to be as angry as him. "I know it might not be my place, but I think that you should leave."

Christine opens her mouth to retort, it was obviously going to be nothing good, but Percy cuts her off. "She's right." he snaps, still quite pissed.

The twin's mother eyes both of them with hard blue eyes. She must have realized neither of them would budge and huffed in annoyance before stomping out of the house. Christine was even decent enough to slam the door behind her. Annabeth lets out a sigh of relief. "Only for you, Percy." she grumbled, seeming a tad bit more angry than she had been before. "I was going to strangle her!" she exclaims, then collapses on his couch, seemingly making herself at home.

"I'm surprised you didn't." he admits, his jaw still a bit tense with anger. The tension was gone, but the feeling of anger wasn't. "Hell, I wanted to." he expressed, taking the seat next to her. A frown etched deep into his features. He wasn't even angry anymore, just sad. "I don't even know when she turned into such a nasty person."

Annabeth frowns at his change in expression. "I'm sorry you have to go through that, Percy." she tells him, honestly. "But I'm more sorry that you have to watch Aria and Aiden go through what they do."

Percy freezes due to the wave of emotions that overtook him. Leave it to Annabeth to know exactly what he was thinking and feeling, even despite the fact that they haven't seen or talked to each other in nine years. It was beginning to feel as if she hadn't left at all. He puts his head in his hands and groans. Percy couldn't believe he fell for her again, in a matter of two days.

He stiffens when he feels her place her hand on his back and rub it in circles, soothingly. After a few seconds, he relaxes into her touch, only just realising how much he had missed it.

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I realize this scene is a tad bit cliche, but... I don't know. I liked working with all the emotions in this chapter. Thanks for reading, please do come again! And review! I love those things!


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